Portable combined automatic phonograph and radio



A. HILL 2,022,543 PORTABLE COMBINED AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH AND RADIO Nov.26, 1935.

Filed June 1, 1935 INVENTOR arw 41%,

ATTOR Y Patented Nov. 26, 1935 UNITED STATES PORTABLE COMBINED AUTOMATICPHONO- GRAPH AND RADIO Arthur Hill, New York, N. Y.

Application June 1, 1935, Serial No. 24,481

9 Claims.

- My present invention relates to a portable combined automaticphonograph and radio and constitutes an improvement upon the apparatusdisclosed in my co-pending application, Serial No. 16,418, filed April15, 1935.

Primarily my present invention differs from that disclosed in myaforesaid application in that the record receiving means is made as aconstituent part of one of the sides of the portable cabinet therebysimplifying the construction without destroying the capability of therecord receiving means from operating as a guard for holding the recordson the turntable when the instrument is being transported from place toplace. With my present construction I am also enabled to play thephonograph while the lid of the cabinet is closed without interferingwith the successive automatic discharge of the records on completion ofthe playing thereof. I am also enabled to make use of a self-containedradio receiving set unit and install it into the portable cabinet with aminimum expenditure of time and effort. The construction and cooperativearrangement of parts are also such as to permit the use of a larger loudspeaker and a larger speaker bafile board, thus increasing the tonalqualities of the instrument without increasing the height dimension ofthe portable cabinet.

My invention will be more iully understood from the detailed descriptionwhich follows when considered in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing, wherein: I

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portable cabinet in closed conditionembodying the combined automatic phonograph and radio of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cabinet of Fig. 1 with the lidthereof raised and the end wall which constitutes a closure for thefront of the radio in open position.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus with the parts in the samerespective relation as in Fig. 2 and showing the record receiving trayin its record receiving position.

Referring to the several figures of the drawing wherein the samereference characters are employed to designate the corresponding parts,the numeral l designates a portable substantially rectangular cabinetcomprising a body portion consisting of a bottom I I, side walls l2 andI3, end walls I! and I5 and a lid l6 hingedly connected to the end wallM by a piano hinge or the like H. The side walls l2 and I3 and the endwall I5 have their top edges rabbeted to form upstanding ribs or flangesl2, l3 and I5 respectively, which seat within the rabbeted free edges ofthe depending walls l8 of the lid IS. The end wall l5 which may beconsidered as the front wall of the cabinet or as the closure wall forthe radio receiving set I9 is hingedly connect- 5 ed to the bottom wallII by the fabric covering of the casing or by other suitable means sothat said wall when not held in closing relation by the lid of thecabinet will drop down by the action of gravity into open position torender avail- 10 able for adjustment the control dials of the radio andwhen the cabinet is mounted on a horizontal surface said wall in openposition will normally assume the position shownin Figs. 2 and 3 andfunction as a sounding board or deflector for the sounds issuing fromthe loud speaker of the radio.

Within the body of the cabinet there is mounted an automatic phonographof any approved design including a, turntable disposed below the topedges of the body portion of the cabinet hav- 20 ing a central pin 2|adapted to accommodate a plurality of sound records 22 in superposedrelation, a tone arm 23 and automatic mechanism comprising a, pivotedarm 24 adapted to successively remove each record from the turntable 25after it has been played. The specific contruction of the automaticphonograph does not constitute a part of the present invention, but isof the type that comprises an electric motor and operative recorddischarge mechanism (not shown) which will remove each record insuccession after being played by raising said record to clear the top ofthe pin 2| and giving to it a motion of translation which will dischargeit from the turntable. Such automatic phonograph mechanism is shown anddescribed in the patent to Mitchell et al. No. 1,936,335, November 21,1933. To receive the records 22 when discharged by the automaticmechanism I have provided a record receiving tray 25 which has a fiatbottom 26 of somewhat greater than semi-circular form and an upstandingsurrounding wall consisting of a substantially semi-circular portion 21and a flat portion 28. The flat portion 28 of the wall preferablyconstitutes a part or a section of the side wall l2 and is hinged to themain section of said side wall by a piano hinge or the like 29 along aline which is parallel to and preferably below the plane of theturntable 20. The record receiving tray 25 may have its upstanding wallportions at their juncture reinforced by triangular reinforcing pieces30. The tray 25 when in record receiving position e. g., in the positionshown in Fig. 3 with the tray extending laterally from the side wall I2is braced in its horizontal operated in the usual manner.

laterally extending relation to the cabinet by the engagement of thewall 28 with the outer face of the side wall I2. Preferably, the tray 25is of such dimensions with respect to both area and depth as will adaptit to engage over the group of records 22 on the turntable and extenddown into encircling relation to the turntable to constitute a holdingand confining means for said records when the hingedly connected sidewall section by which said tray is carried is in its normal side wallrelation. The bottom of the tray 26 maybe provided with an overhanginglip or projection 26' which when the tray is in turntable encirclingposition engages over the tone arm 23 to hold said tone arm againstaccidental movement toward the lid when the cabinet is being carriedfrom place to place.

The phonograph unit of the apparatus is preferably mounted within therear of the body of the cabinet and the radio receiving set IS in the.front of the cabinet. As herein shown the radio receiving set I 9 is inthe form of a self-contained unit which may be mounted within thecabinet with but little expenditure of time and effort. As shown thecasing of the radio is of greater height than the side walls and endwalls of the cabinet l0, thus permitting of the use of a larger loudspeaker unit and a large baffle board for the radio whereby the totalqualities thereof may be improved. This increased height of the radiocasing, however, does not necessitate any increase in the heightdimension of the cabinet, since the projecting portion of the radiocasing above the sides of the cabinet seats within the lid of thecabinet. The radio receiving set l9 as is conventional includes anelectromagnetic unit provided with a diaphragm (not shown) and electricamplifying means (not shown), and per se constitutes no part of thepresent invention. It is desirable, however, that the electromagneticunit of the radio receiving set be so mounted as to direct the soundwaves produced therein toward the baflie board 32 so as to impinge uponthe end wall l5 so that the latter may function as a sounding board. Inorder that the advantageous qualities of the electronic amplifying meansand the electro magnetic unit of the radio receiving set may-be utilizedfor reproducing sound from the phonograph records, the tone arm of thephonograph is connected up with the aforementioned means in any wellknown manner.

When the lid I6 is closed down over the top edges of the end wall 15 andthe side walls I 2 and I3 it serves to hold said end wall in closedrelation to the cabinet and to hold the record receiving tray 26 in itsrecord confining relation over the turntable. When the lid of thecabinet is closed the cabinet as a whole will have the appearance of atravelling case as shown in Fig. 1 and may be carried from place toplace by'the carryinghandle 33 mounted on the side wall I 3 Foroperation as a radio or an automatic phonograph the lid I6 is firstraised and the connecting cord (not shown) for supplying electriccurrent for the phonograph motor and the radio receiving set is pluggedinto an electric socket or outlet. If the device is to beused as anautomatic phonograph the receiving tray 25 is brought into recordreceiving position by being turned about its hinge 29 and the phonographThe tray 25 in its record receiving position being below the bottom ofthe turntable it will be appreciated that as the records are dischargedfrom the turntable they will be gracefully slid into said tray. In Viewof the tray construction, e. g. with one wall thereof formed as asection of the side wall l2, itwill be appreciated that an opening willbe provided in the side wall l2 through which the records may besuccessively discharged upon the completion 5 of the playing thereof,even though the lid 18 be closed down upon the topedges' of the body ofthe cabinet. The radio may be operated when the tray 26 is in its recordreceiving position or in its record confining position with either thelid -of the cabinet open or closed.

Although'I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention I do not wish to be limited to the precise details ofconstruction disclosed since-changes may be made therein within therealm' of mechanical skill without departing from the spirit of theinvention as claimed. 7

What I claim is:

1. A portable automatic phonograph compris- 20 ing a cabinet having sidewalls and a lid, said cabinet having therein a turntable adapted tosupport a plurality of records in superposed relation, mechanismincluding a tone arm for reproducing sounds from a plurality of recordsin succession when mounted on said turntable and for removing eachrecord after it has been played from the turntable, one of the sidewalls of the cabinet comprising hingedly connected sections, one of saidsections. having a record receiving means which in the normal positionof said side wall section overlies the turntable to confine the recordson the turntable and which when said side wall section is turned on itshinge outwardly of the cabinet, extends laterally from the cabinet andis adapted to receive the records from the turntable as they aredischarged therefrom by the discharge mechanism.

2. A portable automatic phonograph according to claim 1 wherein therecord receiving means has an element for engaging and holding down thetone arm when the side wall section by which it is carried is in itsnormal side wall relation.

3. A portable automatic phonograph according to claim 1, wherein therecord receiving means is a walled tray adapted to encircle theturntable when the side wall section by which it it is carried is in itsnormal side wall relation.

4. A portable automatic phonograph according to claim 1, wherein the,turntable is set below the top edges of the side walls and the hingedlyconnected side wall sections are connected along a line substantiallyparallel to the plane of the turntable and no higher than the turntable.

5. A portable automatic phonograph according to claim 1, wherein theturntable is set below the top edges of the side walls and'the hingedlyconnected side wall sections are connected along a line substantiallyparallel to and below 00 the plane of the turntable.

6. A portable automatic phonograph according to claim 1, wherein the lidof the cabinet when closed is adapted to engage over the top edge of theupper of the hingedly connected side '6 wall sectioms to hold said sidewall sections in their normal flat side wall relation.

7. A portable automatic phonograph according to claim 1, wherein theturntable is set below the top edges of the side walls and the hingedlyconnected side wall sections are connected along a line substantiallyparallel to and below the plane of the turntable whereby to provide anopening in said side wall when the side wall section which carries therecord receiving means is turned outwardly into record receivingposition and the lid is closed, through which opening the records fromthe turntable may be discharged by the automatic means.

8. A phonograph comprising a. portable cabi-.- net having side walls anda lid, a turntable within the cabinet below the top edges of the side'walls, one of said side walls comprising hingedly connected sectionsnormally disposed in a common plane, one of said sections having meanscarried thereby which in the normal relation of said side wall sectionsoverlies the turntable and is adapted to confine a plurality of recordspositioned thereon and said side wall section when turned on its hingeis adapted to overlie the top edges of the side walls and hold thesections 10 of the hingedly connected side wall in their normal fiatrelation.

ARTHUR

